The Music Room
by indefinite.spectre
Summary: Kuroko just wants to find a haven away from the noisy campus and teenage hormones. He finds one, and he unexpectedly meets a pianist with sad melodies.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:: **Hello everybody! It has been a while, hasn't? And my author's block isn't going away, it seems. However, I manage to finish the part one of the fic I'm offering for KiKuro for the KiKuro day. Happy Belated KiKuro day everyone! I might post the second part next week, though.

**Warnings:: **Mild shounen-ai and grammatical errors.

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

During lunch break, Kuroko would slip away from the bustling and noisy place in the cafeteria, heading to the library like the usual. However, the library _also_ became the home of raging teenage hormones, making out at the farthest book shelf, with soft high pitched giggles and sweet nothings whispered to each other's ears. How sickening. He bets that someone had also done _inappropriate_ inside their school library, and the thought of it makes him have Goosebumps.

Abandoning the library, Kuroko is now in search of a place that peace and tranquility reigns, away from unstoppable teenage hormones and useless chattering that can practically be seen inside the school campus.

Wandering aimlessly, Kuroko reaches the farthest of the East wing, a building that is rarely used, due to the fact that almost all classes are conducted in the West wing of the school. He goes down the stairs, and with the last step, he finds himself face to face with a small Music Room.

Praying to the Heavenly creatures that this might be his haven, his salvation, he slowly walks toward the door and opens it, greeted by peace. He walks in and observes the place.

The walls are painted in peach color, tiled white marbled floor and the room seems to be well cared and groomed. No layer of dust and spider webs to be seen, and everything looks neat and clean. Various instruments were neatly placed inside the wooden cabinet, protected by glass that is set against a wall. A lone grand piano sits on the center, in its glory, waiting for someone to come and play.

Kuroko is no expert in playing the piano, but he knows how play the violin and flute, being taught by his dad at an early age. A small red couch is at the right side of the piano, something Kuroko had failed to notice. He walks toward the small couch and sits on it, feeling comfortable as he starts to open his book and read.

* * *

Every day, during lunch break, Kuroko would hastily eat his lunch, bringing his flute or violin with him then head towards to the hidden music room to practice his musical skills. However, one day, when he is about to enter the room, he hears someone playing the piano; its sad melody reaches Kuroko's ears. Kuroko knows for a fact that the room is sound proofed, as he tested it the second time he visited the place. The reason why he could hear the melody is because the door is slightly opened, allowing sound to escape.

Not wanting to be rude, Kuroko stands in front of the door, patiently waiting for the person to finish his song before barging in. He listens to the melody being played and he could tell that the person playing the piano is in pain. He suddenly felt pity for the pianist.

When the song ended, Kuroko knocks twice softly, before opening and entering the room.

He sees a blonde guy that looks around his age looking up at him, brown eyes wide in disbelief. His fingers freeze on the ivory keys as he offers Kuroko a shaky smile.

"H-Hello..." He greets him nervously. "Am I interrupting you or something? Is this the good time to leave?"

Kuroko shakes his head as he approaches the blonde guy. "It's fine. You're not interrupting anything. I'm just surprised that someone knew this aside from me.

"Well yeah, I found this room two years ago when I'm finding a room that could separate me from reality, even if it's just a moment." He replies sheepishly, scratching the back of his head lightly. "I'm Kise Ryouta by the way," he offers his right hand to Kuroko for him to shake. The other lad did.

"Kuroko, Kuroko Tetsuya," he introduces himself, shaking Kise's hand lightly, "pleased to meet you, Kise-kun."

Kise smiles at him as he removes his hand and started to close the fall. "I have to go now, see you next time, Kuroko-kun." And with that, he gets up and leaves, allowing Kuroko to use his violin in peace.

"He seems familiar..." Kuroko mumbles to himself before setting down his violin case and opening it, get his bow and violin before starting to play.

* * *

Kuroko would always meet Kise inside the Music Room, playing pieces with sad melodies. He wonders why is that so, does he have a problem? Is something bothering him? Kuroko is curious to find out.

"Kise-kun," Kuroko calls the blonde out one day after Kise finished another piece of sadness, "is something bothering you?"

Kise stiffens and Kuroko knew he had hit the spot. Then Kise's body seems to relax but looks at Kuroko warily.

"Why did you say that?" He asks, hesitant.

"The pieces that you would always play are the sad ones. I haven't heard you play other than that." Kuroko replies. Kise seems to tense a little bit, before his shoulder slumps as he sighs in defeat.

"You could say that... My mom... She has a breast cancer, stage four and her time is numbered and nearing to end."

Silence...

"I'm... I'm sorry for asking." Kuroko hangs his head low, filled with guilt. "It must be a sore subject for you. I'm sorry."

Kuroko thinks that Kise had heard those phrases a million times, insincere and fake, but Kuroko is truly guilty on asking the blonde about it. He must have known too, that Kuroko's is genuine.

"It's... alright. I can't face the fact that she's leaving us soon! I-I-I... I can't accept it." Kise cries as he tries to spit those words out, it chokes him. "I don't want her to leave us!"

Kuroko lifts his head and sees the blonde crying and sobbing, trying so hard not but he does anyway. Kuroko approaches him, rubbing his back gently.

"Cry, Kise-kun, just cry. Don't repress it. You'll only hurt yourself more." Kuroko tells him softly, as Kise's sobbing and crying becomes louder, and Kuroko just stand there, soothing him.

Every musician has its sad pieces, it seems.

* * *

After that incident, when Kise calmed himself down, his sobbing and crying becomes light hiccups, Kuroko told him to visit his mother, to spend the last moments of her life with him, he looks a bit hesitant but Kuroko insisted, so he did. Now the blonde is nowhere to be seen, for two weeks now. Kuroko feels slightly down with the blonde's bright smiles and cheery presence (except when he plays the piano) but he knows that Kise's trying to spend his mother's remaining life in happiness and joy.

So when Kise had returned to school, Kuroko is skeptical on talking to him, but still wondering what had happened in those 2 weeks.

"Kurokocchi." Kise calls him as he waves at him cheerily. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you for asking, Kise-kun. How about you?" Kuroko asks, looking a bit wary. Kise's smile drops a bit but answers anyway.

"I'm fine; today's my mom's funeral. I decided not to go; I told her that, she said it was fine, she knows how hard it is for me. I said my final farewell to her so I think that's fine." Kise says quietly. "Thank you, Kurokocchi, for giving me the courage to be with my mom in her final weeks. I was scared, too scared, to see her in that state, so I avoided going to the hospital. Then you come along and gave me the courage, thank you." Kise tells him, a big warm smile on his lips.

Kuroko smiles at him faintly. "No problem, Kise-kun, I'm glad you're well."

* * *

It's been few months ever since Kise's mom died, and the sad melodies stopped. It was replaced by warm and loving melodies, not necessarily happy. It's a big improvement, on Kise's part, and it makes Kuroko feels warm and contented on the inside. Except if the blonde is looking at him.

Recently, Kuroko seems to pay more attention to Kise than anyone else. The way he plays the piano, his fingers dancing gracefully on the ivory and ebony colored keys, his form is to near perfection and whenever he plays, he would close his eyes and be one with his music. It's like him and his music are the same entity, like he isn't just playing, he's conveying his emotions to the listener, to Kuroko. That Kise would smile at him after he's finished playing his piece, that smile Kuroko has grown to love...

... And it scares him that he now realized he had fallen in love with Kise.

Rather than telling him how he feels, he starts to avoid him, hoping that this feeling is just a mere infatuation, that it would go away, sooner or later, before it gets worse.

It did not.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes::** Hi guys! I'm so sorry for being too late in posting this, been busy and my author's block bugging me. This is the second part of the story in which the ending is kind of lame, I ran out of ideas, I'm sorry.

**Warning::** Shounen-ai and sappy/ lame ending

**Disclaimer::** I own nothing but the plot.

**HAPPY READING!**

* * *

Kuroko tries his hardest to hide this affection towards the pianist. Alas, he has little success. Whenever Kise smile that bright smile of his, he would feel like his lips twitch with the faintest hint of a smile. He pays attention to Kise more than ever. He tries to fight back, that what he is feeling is forbidden, not because Kise might find it disgusting, but because he's afraid to fall in love.

Call him coward, but he's afraid of the pain he would eventually encounter. Loving someone has a price, usually, it comes with a price.

Kuroko's too much of a coward to risk that price for something he is unsure about.

Would loving that sweet, kind and adorable but a bit slow and stupid blonde named Kise Ryouta worth it? Would he actually love him back if he does? Doubts fill Kuroko's heart and mind, and his reluctance to even show his growing affections to Kise affects not only his studies but his music as well.

"Kurokocchi," Kise says, looking at him in concern, "there is something wrong with your music today. It seems off." He comments, a dubious frown on his face. "No one's bullying you, right?"

"No one is, Kise-kun. You're just paranoid, that's all. I'm not feeling well I guess." Kuroko lies through his teeth, ignoring the fluttering feeling that Kise's worried about him.

"You should get a checkup from a doctor then." Kise suggests, still worried for his quiet friend.

"I'm not sick, Kise-kun, it's just that... I'm bothered with my feelings." Kuroko says reluctantly, in which Kise looks interested, an odd emotion flashing through his eyes for a second.

"Really? You're having love troubles?! Well, don't you worry; I'll give you good advice, Kurokocchi! I'm an expert." He says proudly, smiling at Kuroko.

"You're not Kise-kun, that's self-proclaimed." He deadpans. Kise feigns hurt before dramatically saying he's hurt. Kuroko rolls his eyes and drops the idea of telling him, and Kise quickly behaves, saying that he'd be good. The teal haired teen looks at him warily before taking a deep breath.

"I'm not sure if it's mere infatuation or not, but I've been noticing all of this person's movements, from the slightest movement down to their interactions when they're with me... I've been paying attention to them intently, and I don't know how I should feel. A part of me says it's childish, and they will never love me back and a part of me is hopeful. Quite frankly, I don't know what to do, and it's affecting my music and studies." Kuroko says nervously, looking at his hands, looking guilty.

Kise gives him a soft smile. "It seems to me you love this person. What a lucky girl..." He says, looking at Kuroko. The other teen can only offer him a slight nod.

"Y-yeah..." He says softly as Kise pats his back.

"Don't worry! I'm sure she will love someone great like you Kurokocchi!" He encourages him, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. "Tell her okay? Confess to her before she gets taken."

Kuroko nods slowly, wondering on how would he tell Kise that he is the person he has this confusing feelings.

* * *

Weeks had passed and their friendship is getting stronger than ever, as well as these feelings. Instead of fighting it, Kuroko just lets it instead, so it wouldn't hinder his studies. He goes back to normal after a few talking to Kise. He tries to act normal around him but he seems to be in a trance every time he smiles at him and praises him for his violin skills. They managed to pull off a duet and it was very pleasing and soothing to the ears.

Kise continues to play the piano every day, practicing hard and creating soothing melodies. Sometimes, Kuroko just sits down the couch and reads a book while listening to Kise play.

Everything is going well until one day, when he sees Kise kissing another girl near the gardens of their school.

He had been looking for Nigou since he ran off, and Kurok had been looking for him for ages. He thinks that Nigou went to the gardens, as he would frequent the place just to take a nap. He smacks himself mentally as to why it wasn't the first place he had gone to while searching for Nigou.

When he reached the gardens, the thoughts of finding Nigou disappears when he sees Kise liplocking with some unknown woman, and Kuroko's jaw almost drops.

"K-Kise-kun...?" He asks in disbelief.

Kise must have heard him utter his name, as he lifts his head up and sees Kuroko standing there looking shock and what that hurt? Yes, Kuroko looks hurt with his bestfriend making out with some girl.

"K-Kurokocchi?" He asks, shocked. "Why are you here?"

"I am looking for Nigou, Kise-kun. However it seems like I disrupted something important, I'll take my leave and just come back later." Kuroko replies coldly, turning to his heels and left, leaving Kise dumbfounded.

* * *

After that incident, Kuroko's demeanor towards Kise changed, he's still speaking to him yes, but his replies became shorter, sometimes an one word reply to long sentences. This worries the blonde, wondering what he actually did wrong.

"Kurokocchi, are you mad at me?" Kise asks, one day after they finished practicing their pieces. The both of them are going to perform in the upcoming music fest, and they are practicing their individual pieces together to make it easier.

Kuroko stops and stares at him face blank, "I'm not," he answers, his hands say otherwise.

"You've been cold towards me nowadays, ever since that day." Kise says, frowning. "Did I do something wrong?"

Kise looks pitiful, desperate to know what has been eating Kuroko. The shorter lad feels sorry for him, but he doesn't want to confess that he got so jealous with his girlfriend. He knows that he has no right, because he's merely a friend.

_A friend._

It hurts to think that he's just Kise's friend and gets so jealous when he saw them kissing in the gardens.

"Don't worry about it Kise-kun." Kuroko says, purposely avoiding meeting the blonde's eyes. Kise stands from his seat and marches up to him, hugging the shorter male tightly.

"Then why does it feels like you hate me?! Kurokocchi, I don't know what I did wrong but I'm so sorry! I'm sorry for being an idiot that I didn't even realize what I did to offend you and you got mad. I'm so sorry-ssu..."

Kuroko could feel the back of his shirt dampening and it wavers his will to not tell him. He battles against it but in the end, it all went down the drain. He feels extremely guilty to the clueless blonde about his selfish jealousy.

"You did nothing wrong, Kise-kun," he assures him, patting his back, "i-it's just... I-I do not like seeing you kiss other people. I got jealous because I... I like you Kise-kun." He says the last part softly, so soft that Kise has to strain his ears to hear it.

The blonde looks at him, shocked at the confession. Kuroko knows that this would be the end of their friendship. Kise would steer away from him; avoid him for the rest of his life. What was he thinking really? Kise liking him back is preposterous. The blonde is straight and there was never a chance to begin with.

Instead of harsh words or physical attack directed to him, he is instead held close by the blonde, hugging him tight as he could feel tears soaking the back of his shirt.

"K-Kurokocchi!" Kise exclaims, sobbing, "I-I... I'm so happy you like me Kurokocchi! I love you Kurokocchi!"

Kuroko is shocked, not believing this is real. Is this a dream? If so, please don't wake him up.

He returns the gesture, hugging the blonde as well and for the first time, a smile, a visible smile, can be seen on his usually monotoned face.

And he'll be damned if Kise sees it. Nope, he didn't smile, not at all.

(In the end, he admits that he _did_ smile that time. Only a little.)


End file.
